NUGGETS BLOWOUT HORNETS TO ADVANCE

A frequent critique of the NBA is that none of the players exert a serious effort until the playoffs begin.  Judging from the New Orleans Hornets’ awful performance in their opening round series with the Denver Nuggets, that critique might be charitable.  The Hornets were put out of their misery on Wednesday night, losing to the host Nuggets 107-86.  With the victory, Denver won the series 4 games to 1 and advances to the second round where they’ll no doubt face a much less disinterested opponent.

The Hornets could have just forfeited their first round series and saved everyone a lot of trouble.  Despite losing game 3 95-93, the Nuggets outscored the Hornets by a margin of 24.2 points per game.  New Orleans rolled over the last two games of the series losing by a combined 79 points, including a record tying game five drubbing where they lost by 58 on their home court.   Right now, the Hornets’ blanket excuse is the injury to Tyson Chandler that kept him out of the final two games of the series.  Of course the bigger question is ‘what difference would his average of 8 points and 8 rebounds per game meant?’  The even bigger question is ‘At what point did NBA players start to care so little that they’d miss playoff games with minor injuries like the ‘swollen ankle’ that kept Chandler out of the final two games of the series?’  Apparently there’s no reason to expect a pro athlete to suck it up and play with pain during the playoffs, even for the $11 million that Chandler will make this season.

New Orleans wasn’t in a talkative mood following the loss, but James Posey offered this lame platitude:

"Whether it's 58 points or a 1,000 points, a loss is a loss and you just try to get that bitter taste out of your mouth.”

Denver was led by Carmelo Anthony’s 34 points, while J.R. Smith added 20 off the bench.  Kenyon Martin scored 15, and Chauncey Billups earned a ‘double/double’ with 13 points and 11 assists.  Nene rounded out the Nuggets double digit scorers with 10 points.  New Orleans was led by David West with 24 points, while James Posey contributed 18 off the bench.  Peja Stojakovic and Chris Paul scored 12 apiece, with Paul adding 10 assists for a ‘double/double’.

In his postgame comments, Nuggets coach George Karl focused on his team’s excellence and Carmello Anthony’s first playoff series victory rather than the pitiful effort put forth by their opponents:

 "That monkey is awful heavy sometimes. I'm just really happy for 'Melo.  I thought we could be a good team. But I never thought we could be this good."

Denver is a very good team, but it’s a lot easier to dominate when you’re playing a team that simply doesn’t care.  The best news for the Hornets and for head coach Byron Scott is that they’ll likely not be held accountable for their shoddy effort by the mainstream sports media.  The fact that they play in New Orleans gives them some cover as its still somewhat ‘politically incorrect’ to criticize their lack of interest, effort and intensity nearly four years out from Hurricane Katrina. 

Unfortunately, the New Orleans Hornets are in microcosm the problem with the entire NBA.  There’s no shortage of talented professional basketball players, but those willing to make the sacrifices and exert the discipline necessary to reach the individual level of a Kobe Bryant or LeBron James—let alone those with the leadership skills to galvanize a championship team—are in very short supply.  The league is becoming infested with spoiled, lazy players who have a sense that they’re ‘entitled’ to their millions for a minimally acceptable effort.  At any rate, the New Orleans Hornets no longer need to worry about the NBA playoffs and can get on to playing golf or going to nightclubs or whatever else it is that is so much more important to them than professional basketball.